She told the Mirror: "I watched her and it's a shame you didn't get to see more of her because she was really, really ill in that house and I think she did amazingly to stay in there for what she did."

Jessica, seen here with fellow TOWIE star James Argent, admits she's surprised at how strong Sam is

When asked how Sam is doing now, Jess added: "It's not really our business to divulge into it but she's, she's OK I think."

Essex girl Sam has lost a stone and a half since her appearance on Celebrity Big Brother in January.

Crohn's is a long term illness, which means Sam will suffer relapses, periods of poor health, and remissions, periods of good health, for the rest of her life.

The main symptoms are abdominal pain, weight loss and ulcers.

Jess and Sam are good friends and appear on The Only Way Is Essex together (Image: Getty)

Researchers believe it is genetic, but can be set off by a number of triggers including viruses, stress or dietary issues.

Sam collapsed during tests at a Harley Street clinic last month, and was rushed to a private hospital, where she was placed on a drip for 35 hours to rehydrate her.

She has since undergone blood tests, a CT scan, an ultrasound and last week, had a colonoscopy.

Now, as she starts filming the new series of TOWIE, she has been placed on a liquid only diet to rest her bowel.

Jess and James say Sam is "OK"

The 7 stone 3 lbs star, who is slowly managing to put weight back on, will be drinking six nutrient shakes filled with lipids, protein and carbohydrates every day for the next month and a half.

Prior to her diagnosis, the star said of her illness: "My immune system is down so I'm picking up every bug going. My bowels are swollen and so are my intestines.

"I just couldn't keep my food down. It was horrible. I lost all the muscle definition in my stomach."